1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention is related to a tool intended to extract a bearing from a wheel, especially from the wheel of a roller skate or an in-line skate. The invention is also related to the methanol for extracting a bearing that has been adapted to the use of such a tool.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Whether it be in the particular field cited as an example, or in any other field, the aforementioned type of wheel is generally constituted of an elastic envelope forming a bearing sheath, at the center of which is a concentric cage intended to house at least one bearing.
This bearing is conventionally constituted of an outer ring, affixed to the elastic envelope that forms the bearing sheath, and by an inner ring, affixed to a transverse axis that crosses, as the case may be, a frame of an in-line roller skate.
The cage intended for the bearing is arranged either directly at the center of the elastic envelope, or in a rim attached to the envelope.
In the presence of two bearings located on either side of the lateral faces of the wheel, it has been known to space the bearings apart via a spacer located coaxially within the wheel.
It is obvious that this type of sport severely tests the component parts of the wheels, especially the bearings.
In fact, the sport of in-line roller skating basically comprises a motor or propulsion phase where the skate is directed outwardly by taking support on the wheels, which induces forces that are sometimes opposing at the level of the bearings.
In this same technique of in-line roller skating, braking is obtained by laterally dragging on the inclined wheels, or inversely, by opposition, which causes the same types of forces.
Furthermore, this sport has also adopted newer disciplines such as acrobatic skating or so-called "aggressive" skating which necessarily cause a rapid wear and tear of the bearings, especially in light of the force involved in the figures that are executed. In addition, the wheels themselves deteriorate very rapidly.
So as to avoid having to systematically replace the wheels when a bearing has been damaged, or vice-versa, suggestions have already been made for replacing only the bearing on the defective bearing sheath and retaining the same elastic envelope or the same bearing; this is achieved by virtue of an appropriate ball bearing extractor whose aim is to facilitate this operation.
Thus, a so-called "impact" extractor is known, the object of which is to facilitate the extraction of bearings from their cages.
This known extracting device is constituted of a cylindrical axis designed to penetrate precisely into a spacer separating the two bearings, and it has a light shoulder designed to take support on the face of the spacer, so as to be able to push it, and thereby also push the bearing located at its other end, by providing small impacts by virtue of a sliding element constituting a hammer. The opposite bearing is thus released because of the repeated and uniformly distributed impacts on the opposite face of the spacer. The disengagement of the first bearing is obtained by functioning in an inverse manner, i.e., by placing the tool on the other side of the spacer and hitting in the same way with the sliding hammer.
Although such an extracting tool doubtless has numerous advantages, it must be noted that it also has several disadvantages, namely the requirement of dealing with a wheel that has a spacer between these two bearings, which is not always the case. In addition, the tool has a relatively complex design because it makes use of two component elements that are movable with respect to one another, namely the shouldered axis and the sliding hammer. Another disadvantage also lies in the fact that this type of tool cannot be adapted to different spacer diameters, but is limited to a single diameter, and another tool is required for a different diameter.
The Barahona patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,513, discloses a multi-functional tool for an in-line roller skate as shown in FIG. 1 (the reference numerals used in the drawings of the original document have been retained so as to avoid any confusion; however, some of these references may be the same as some references that relate to the description of the present invention, but these do not represent the same hub). The tool has a handle portion 12 that can be extended via a series of concentric shapes having progressively smaller diameters in the direction of the end that is introduced into the wheel. In the vicinity of this end, there is a section 22 with a sufficiently small diameter to enable its introduction within the wheel. The section 2 also has a shoulder 21 which is also of a smaller diameter than the diameter of the inner bearing ring, but which becomes engaged with a hub spacing element.
The disassembly operation function as follows: the tool is introduced until the shoulder comes into abutment against the spacing element. Thrust is exerted on the spacing element which pushes the opposite bearing and forces it to come out. The second bearing is then disengaged by the section 22 formed from a part of a truncated cone extended by an edge 27 which is provided to be engaged in the second bearing so as to extract it via traction.
One of the disadvantages of this system lies in the thrust-related disengagement of the first bearing, which can be complicated due to the lack of a support and gripping surface of the wheel. In addition, the spacing element, generally made of plastic, can become damaged by this operation because it is used to pushed the bearing and is thus subject to compression. Another disadvantage comes from the fact that the tool is designed to extract the bearing only by thrust in the case of the first bearing, and by thrust or traction in the case of the second bearing. For extraction via traction, the tool is ill-adapted for executing a quick extraction of the second bearing because of the absence of a shoulder that can be used as a reference and support surface for introducing the appropriate length of the extraction portion through the bearing. Indeed, the shoulder 21 is designed to pass through the bearing and is therefore not adapted for use as a support and introduction reference. The following shoulder 20 of the second section has a diameter that is big enough to be engaged against the bearing, but it is also at a distance that is too far from the gripping edge 27 of the bearing because of the (standard) width of a bearing. In fact, the shoulder 20 is described as having the sole function of removing the second bearing via thrust and not via traction. Consequently, the tool has a complex design, and its usage is not entirely satisfactory.